Electrical discharge registering system



Sept. 10, 1935. R. K. HONAMAN 2,014,179

ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE REGISTERING SYSTEM Filed March 21, 1951 Reyz's t'el's .INVENTOR E. [Emmi/1mm Wq ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Richard K. Honaman, Bloomfield, N. J., assignor to American Telephone and Telegraph Company, a corporation of New York Application March 21, 1931, Serial No. 524,381

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electrical discharge registering systems, and particularly to a system for registering the number of times a lighting surge is impressed on a transmission line.

In the operation of transmission lines, such, for example, as power, telephone or telegraph circuits, it is frequently desirable to know the number of times a lightning surge is impressed upon the line. Such information is of value not only to those responsible for the operation of the transmission line, but also to those who are concerned with the natural electrical phenomenon in a given territory as, for example, employees of the Forestry Service.

.The object of this invention is to provide a simple and effective means for registering the number oi occurrences of lightning surges upon a transmission line, which affords an indication oi the frequency oi lightning discharges in the territory through which the line passes.

This invention will be clearly understood from the following description when read in connection with the attached drawing, of which Figure 1 shows schematically a simple form of embodiment of the invention and Fig. 1a shows in fragmentary form a modification of Fig. 1.

In Fig. l, I represents a transmission line which has connected with it a plurality of lightning arresters 2 and 3, preferably 01 the vacuum type although other types of arresters may also be used. The path to ground from the line I is made up of two branches, each containing one of the lightning arresters and also one of the condensers 4 and 5 in series therewith. Eileetively connected across the arrester 2 is a circuit including the inductance 6, the source of direct current I, a registering device l and an inductance 9. In like manner, there is effectively connected across the arrester I a circuit including the inductance lo, a source of direct current H, the registering device U and an inductance 8. It will be seen that the device 8 and the inductance I are common to both of the circuits just mentioned; and it will also be seen that the sources of current I and II areso connected to their respective lightning arresters that the correspondingly positioned terminals of the several arresters are of opposite polarity.

When lightning. impresses a surge potential between line I and ground of suilicient magnitude at the point where the arresters are connected to the transmission line, these arresters will break down. It the surge is positive with respect to ground, current from source II will flow through arrester 3 and inductance 9 and the registering device 8, causing the operation of said registering device. Under these conditions current will not flow through arrester 2 because the potential will be such as to oppose the current 5 from source I. It the lightning surge is such that point I! is negative with respect to ground, then current from source 1 will flow through arrester 2, inductance 9 and registering device 8, causing the operation of said registering device, but no 10 current will flow from source ll. Thus, operation of the registering device will be secured on surges of either polarity. The device 8 may be a message register such as is employed upon telephone circuits or it may be some other form of 15 registering device known in the art. The condensers 4 and. 5 serve to prevent direct current of the sources I and H from flowing to the line I and to prevent short-circuiting sources 1 and II; and the inductances 6, l0 and 9 are choke 20 coils to prevent the lightning discharges from passing through the circuits containing the sources 1 and II and the registering device 8.

Fig. 1a is a modification of Fig. 1, consisting in the insertion of additional registering device for 25 the purpose of obtaining registrations separately 01 surges 0! positive or negative polarity. By applying the same reasoning outlined above in connection with Fig. 1, it will be seen that separate operations of the registering device 8 will be ob- 3O tained for each polarity of the lightning surge.

While the invention has been disclosed in a schematic form only, it is to be understood that it is capable of embodiment in other forms with out departing from the spirit and scope of the 35 appended claims.

What is claimed is:

In a system for registering the occurrence of lightning discharges from a transmission line, the combination with two vacuum lightning arresters connected to a conductor of the said line, of sources of potential of opposite polarity each effectively connected across the gap oi one of the arresters, the said sources being so connected as to polarize the said arresters in opposite 45 senses, and being suiiiciently low in voltage as to be unable to maintain the discharge through the said arresters, inductance cells each connected between the line side of an arrester and its source of potential, and a registering device connected so between said sources and said arresters to register the occurrence of lightning discharges 

